Sabres Re-Sign RFA Forward Danny O’Regan
The Buffalo Sabres continue to work through a substantial list of restricted free agents. While it was reported yesterday that they had agreed to terms with forward Nicholas Baptiste, the team this morning both confirmed that deal and announced the signing of fellow RFA forward Danny O’Regan. With the deadline for accepting a qualifying offer arriving later today, O’Regan accepted his offer of $874,125 at the NHL level and $70K at the AHL level.
O’Regan was acquired by the Sabres at the NHL Trade Deadline in the deal that sent Evander Kane to the San Jose Sharks. The 2012 fifth-round pick had recorded four assists through 19 games with Sharks prior to the deal and saw action in two contests with Buffalo down the stretch, but was held scoreless. While his NHL offensive efforts to date – five points in 22 games – are underwhelming, O’Regan has not yet been put in a position to succeed, seeing limited ice time in an energy role. That could change in Buffalo, where he joins former Boston University teammates Jack Eichel and Evan Rodrigues up front for the Sabres. O’Regan displayed strong offensive instincts and scoring ability at BU and in his only full season at the AHL level, scoring at a point-per-game pace over the three campaigns. If given proper opportunity up in Buffalo, O’Regan could prove to be an exciting addition.
With O’Regan and Baptiste officially in the books, that still leaves Justin Bailey, C.J. Smith, and most importantly Sam Reinhart as remaining restricted free agents for GM Jason Botterill and the Sabres to sort out. Perhaps before the deadline today, new deals can be hammered out with Bailey and Smith – both of whom could be bound for the AHL for much of next season – but work on Reinhart’s extension is slow and steady.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Nicholas Baptiste To One-Year Deal
7/15: The team has officially announced the signing. Baptiste will carry a $787.5K cap hit at the NHL level and will be paid $70K in the minor leagues.
7/14: The Buffalo Sabres have signed restricted free agent Nicholas Baptiste to a one-year, two-way contract, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The 22-year-old winger will make $788K next season.
Baptiste has developed nicely in the Sabres’ system as he scored 25 goals with the Rochester Americans of the AHL in the 2016-17 season and followed that up by splitting time between Rochester and Buffalo this year. With injuries hampering the Sabres’ squad, Baptiste was able to get into 33 games this past season, putting up four goals and six points in limited time. Playing in a bottom-six role, he averaged just 9:58 of ATOI.
At 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, the forward has both the size and speed to be a solid player, but has struggled to put it all together at the NHL level as he has received some time at the top-six. The team may be looking at Baptiste as either a trade chip or more of a permanent bottom-six rotation player, but he will get one more year to prove that he can take that next step in Buffalo. That might be more challenging with the Sabres’ adding more talent this season, including some veterans like Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka, which could force Baptiste back to Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Sean Malone
The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed Sean Malone to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a $788K salary at the NHL level. Malone was a restricted free agent after finishing his entry-level contract and did not qualify for salary arbitration.
Malone, 23, was originally drafted in 2013 but spent four seasons at Harvard before joining the Sabres organization. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season, he spent last year with the Rochester Americans of the AHL where he recorded 22 points in 73 games. The two-way center struggled at times on an Americans team that relied on some more veteran players down the middle, but should return to Rochester and play an even bigger role next season.
The one year deal will keep Malone a restricted free agent next summer, and in the Buffalo system going forward. Though there isn’t a huge ceiling for the sixth-round pick, he does represent a legitimate depth option for the NHL squad going forward. Perhaps he’ll never be a full-time player, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the NHL at some point due to injury or other problems for the Sabres.
Buffalo Sabres Hire Steve Smith As Assistant Coach
It didn’t take long for Steve Smith to land on his feet after resigning from the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. The Buffalo Sabres have announced they’ve hired the veteran assistant coach to join Phil Housley‘s group, where he will take over defensive and penalty kill responsibilities.
There are few opportunities like this one for Smith, who will get to work directly with phenom defenseman Rasmus Dahlin as he begins his NHL career. Smith and Housley will be tasted with developing Dahlin into the perennial Norris candidate that many are projecting him to be, and they have quite a bit of experience between the two of them for the job. Housley of course is a Hall of Fame defenseman with 1,200 career points, but Smith was no slouch in his playing days and brings the knowledge of three Stanley Cups to the table. He was a key member of the Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier-led Edmonton Oilers championship teams, and finished his career with over 800 games played (and 2,100 penalty minutes).
Dahlin isn’t the only young defenseman that will be taken under Smith’s wing, as the team also boasts Brendan Guhle, Mattias Samuelsson and others coming through the system. Even Rasmus Ristolainen is still only 23, despite already having five seasons under his belt. The Sabres have struggled to put anything close to a championship-caliber blue line together for years, but can take a huge step towards that goal this season.
Rasmus Dahlin Signs Entry-Level Contract
The Buffalo Sabres have signed the first overall pick, inking Rasmus Dahlin to his three-year entry-level contract. Dahlin’s deal will almost certainly include the maximum bonuses for an ELC. Dahlin is expected to start in the NHL right away, not allowing the contract to slide at all and seeing it expire after the 2020-21 season.
After finishing in last place once again, the Sabres finally won a draft lottery and were given the chance to select a franchise-altering talent in Dahlin. The young defenseman has repeatedly shown off his skills at every level of hockey, including seeing a regular shift in the SHL and even being selected for the Swedish Olympic team. The 18-year old possesses elite puck skills and elusiveness while also embracing the physical side of the game. Though he’ll likely put on more weight and strength as he matures, Dahlin is already at a level that could make him an impact player for the Sabres this season. He’ll obviously have tough competition for the Calder Trophy, but should help Buffalo find some consistency in their own end for the first time in several years.
Even with Sam Reinhart still to sign, the Sabres have plenty of cap room to cover any Schedule B bonuses that Dahlin should accumulate. Top picks can earn up to $2.85MM in these specific bonuses for league-wide accomplishments, and though they can be carried over to the next year’s cap Buffalo looks like they should be able to pay them out this season. Of course, Dahlin would have to be among the league’s best in some category like Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid have been in previous seasons. That may be a tougher level to reach for a defenseman, though the Sabres may be quite reliant on Dahlin before long.
Heading into the season, the Sabres have players like Marco Scandella, Nathan Beaulieu, Matt Hunwick and Brendan Guhle among their left-handed options on the blue line. Even at a young age Dahlin should be able to make a bigger impact than several of those names, and could find himself at the very top of the depth chart in short order. That’s a tough task for an 18-year old stepping right into the NHL, but the Sabres should be improved after making several other additions including goaltender Carter Hutton. A roster that struggled with a lack of depth over the last few seasons lost one of their top options in Ryan O’Reilly, but added several NHL-caliber forwards to make up for him. Casey Mittelstadt and other young players should also play a big role, on what it finally a team heading in the right direction.
Robin Lehner Signs With New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have made several additions since losing captain John Tavares in free agency, the most recent of which was re-acquiring Matt Martin from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, the team has brought in Robin Lehner to help their situation in net. Lehner was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent when the Buffalo Sabres decided not to extend him a qualifying offer, and has now signed a one-year contract with the Islanders worth $1.5MM.
Lehner, 26, had a rough career in Buffalo after being acquired by the Sabres along with David Legwand in exchange for a first-round pick. With high expectations heaped upon him, he was asked to play behind one of the worst rosters in the league on a nightly basis and still performed admirably. In his first two seasons in Buffalo he registered a .921 save percentage through 80 games, and looked like he might be the long-term answer in net as the team rebuilt. Unfortunately, his play slipped last season and after several incidents of losing his cool on the ice over his time in Buffalo, the team decided to move on instead of giving him what would have been a $4MM qualifying offer. Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton will take over for the Sabres, leaving Lehner out on free agency looking for a new home.
After goaltenders like Hutton, Cam Ward, Petr Mrazek and Jaroslav Halak all got snapped up quickly in free agency, it wasn’t clear where Lehner would find that new home. The only place left that seemed to need a starting goaltender was New York, but it’s clear from the contract that they’re not positive he’s the long-term answer. Lehner will be an unrestricted free agent again in a year’s time, and will have to prove that he can keep calm and put up those impressive numbers once again.
He’ll have to battle Thomas Greiss to do it, who will actually make more than twice as much as Lehner next season. The 32-year old Greiss is signed for another two seasons at $3.33MM, but struggled immensely last season and registered an .892 save percentage. Where new head coach Barry Trotz will go to start the year is unclear, but he’s navigated a goaltending tandem before, most recently in Washington with Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. If he can get anything close to the same level of play out of even one of Lehner or Greiss, the Islanders will be a much improved team in 2018-19.
Ryan O’Reilly Traded To St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues added some forward depth today by signing Tyler Bozak and David Perron, but weren’t done making a splash. The team has acquired Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly. The Sabres will receive a 2019 first round pick, a 2021 second round pick, Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund. The deal will be completed today and the Blues will pay O’Reilly’s $7.5MM signing bonus, due just before midnight. The 2019 pick is top-10 protected, meaning should the season get away from the Blues they will not have to give up a high pick next summer.
While the deal certainly brings several assets to the Sabres, getting rid of the Sobotka and Berglund contracts were imperative for the Blues to get something like this done. TO complete the deal without giving up one of their top prospects like Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou, while also protecting their deep defensive corps. The Blues are ready to compete once again in 2018-19, and have brought in some experienced forwards to put them over the top.
For the Sabres, they not only deal O’Reilly before having to pay his signing bonus, but also get five useful assets. While Sobotka and Berglund were slightly overpaid and potentially hurting the Blues salary structure, they’re clear upgrades on some of the bottom-six options that Buffalo has used over the past few seasons. Thompson meanwhile is an excellent prospect in his own right, and should give them another key building block in their quest for redemption. Grouping the 20-year old Thompson with Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Eichel, Casey Mittelstadt and others will give Buffalo a core that they can really market as a future perennial playoff team.
Pierre LeBrun and Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic were the first to confirm the trade.
Buffalo Signs Brandon Hickey To Entry-Level Contract
After acquiring defenseman Brandon Hickey from the Arizona Coyotes last month, the Sabres had until August to sign the Boston University product before he became an unrestricted free agent. Per The Athletic’s John Vogl, Buffalo has gotten a deal done, signing Hickey to a two-year entry-level contract.
The 22-year-old blueliner could have been an unrestricted free agent if he waited until Aug. 1. With the belief that they couldn’t sign him, Arizona sent him along with Mike Sislo to Buffalo for winger Hudson Fasching. Buffalo felt they could ink the four-year college veteran and now they have.
Hickey put up solid numbers at BU as he tallied six goals and 14 points this past season. At 6-foot-2, he provides Buffalo with some size and while he’s a better defensive player, is considered to have the skills to develop into a solid two-way player. He has already played with several Sabres’ players while at Boston University, including Jack Eichel, Evan Rodrigues and Daniel O’Regan.
Hickey likely will start the season with the AHL Rochester Americans and along with some of their other defensive prospects like Lawrence Pilut, Taylor Fedun, Zach Redmond and Matt Tennyson, the team should have quite a few talented pieces in their system.
Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson played for three different teams last year, but was far and away the most successful in Buffalo. The Sabres hope that can continue, as they have signed the forward to a contract extension. Beat writer Bill Hoppe reports that it is a two-year deal worth $1.05MM annually.
Wilson fills a depth role in the bottom-six of Buffalo’s offense. Wilson was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings in a December trade, which allowed Wilson to garner more playing time. In 17 games with Detroit, Wilson failed to score a point, but with Buffalo, he showed more life, scoring six goals and 14 points in 49 games with the Sabres. However, his versatility to be able to play anywhere has made him a key asset to have.
There was some question if he would be re-signed as the Sabres did not make him a qualifying offer, but the two sides were able to come to an agreement.
Chad Johnson Signs With St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues already lost Carter Hutton on the open market, and have now found their replacement goaltender. Chad Johnson—formerly of the Buffalo Sabres, where Hutton ended up—has signed a one-year $1.75MM contract with the Blues.
Johnson should serve as a one-year stopgap behind starter Jake Allen to allow goaltending prospect Ville Husso develop in the AHL for one more season. Husso, who posted a 2.42 GAA and a .922 save percentage with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage remains their best option for a long-term goaltender, but the team felt he needed another season in the AHL before he was ready for NHL duty.
The 32-year-old veteran has been a reliable backup for five seasons, although he truly struggled last year in Buffalo behind their porous defense and complained about the team at the end of the year. Johnson finished the season with a horrid 3.55 GAA and a .891 save percentage, but fared much better the previous two years.